The Pianist Essay

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Analyse how the nature of a character or individual was revealed by their response to events in the text(s). The film ‘The Pianist’ directed by Roman Polanski is based on the survival of Wladyslaw Szpilman during the German invasion of Warsaw, Poland in 1939. Through the film, I learnt that Szpilman was a selfless, smart and passionate man who was lucky to survive a truly dark period in time for the Jewish people. The director uses techniques such as dialogue, camera angles and shots, music and lighting to establish Szpilman’s character and show us that he was truly an incredible man. It is evident throughout the film that Szpilman was a selfless man towards his family and that he loved them very much. As the oldest child, Szpilman always put his family first and tried to protect them. When they are forced to leave their home and move into the Ghetto, Szpilman gave all the money he earned from playing the piano to feed his family and pay for living costs. In the scene where a German officer orders his family to stand, Szpilman stands up to the officer and tells him that they all have work permits and in a two shot we see the officer slap Szpilman on the face. We can see that Szpilman loves and cares about his family very much. The director uses dialogue and a tracking two shot to show the relationship between him and his younger sister Halina. It is a very emotion scene where he says “It’s a funny time to say this but, I wish I knew you better” revealing that he was not really close with his younger sister and wished he had gotten to know her better. When Szpilman is saved from getting on the train and is separated from his family, we see him cry in a reverse tracking shot walking through the Ghetto, which is one of the only few times we see Szpilman cry in the film. The director uses dark lighting and sad orchestral music to express Spilman’s pain and sorrow

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